Steam made me a pirate!

[DigitalSushi]

This was sparked by johnman's "Pirate copy of Fallout 3" thread

In a nutshell:

My Steam account got hacked, by the time (just over 3 weeks) Valve let me know it had indeed been hijacked and had reset my password. Logging in I found my account VAC banned. I was told that the ban would not be lifted and no information would be provided; like the type of cheat used or on what servers (like I give a shit), so now I sell copy's of L4D and the Orange Box to buy my honestly purchased Steam games again. Googling this situation shows Steam doesn't budge on this issue except in exceptional situations.

To all at Valve, I love your games, but take an unjustified, hard stance with me...expect the same in return. I'm not proud, but I've done nothing wrong yet receiving a penalty.

how did your account get hacked?

 

[JediMB]

I wish that one's steam profile would be seperate from one's actual games.
What bothers me is that, when my computer decides to be a jerk and not let me on the internet, I can't play my steam games, dispite the fact that they are on my computer.

The solution to that problem is setting your Steam client to auto-login and creating shortcuts for all the games. That'll let you play the games offline.

 

[DigitalSushi]

Like -616- said, there not going to help me, they're quiet clear on this

And to all the "You've only got yourself to blame" crew...one question;

how exactly?

Because you don't know how to effectively protect your account of hackers.
Or maybe because you downloaded a virus without knowing and it key logged you of your password.

how exactly is it his fault that a keylogger took his details without his knowledge? No matter how careful you are, there is always the chance that you could get an E-STD.

its all his fault if a key logger gets his details, here's an idea, dont be a tripfag.

dont allow your PC to download programs off the net, dont click on untested links, dont let your girlfriend have your password for hotmail to check that your not cybering with other girls that you only happen to fucking use the same password for everything else. Its common sense, just because this guy has paid for a game doesn't give him the right to be blase with the IP.

Same goes with crossing the street, looking both ways and you'll be fine, ask your girlfriend if its safe and your in a bloody heap.

 

[Xvito]

Like -616- said, there not going to help me, they're quiet clear on this

And to all the "You've only got yourself to blame" crew...one question;

how exactly?

Because you don't know how to effectively protect your account of hackers.
Or maybe because you downloaded a virus without knowing and it key logged you of your password.

how exactly is it his fault that a keylogger took his details without his knowledge? No matter how careful you are, there is always the chance that you could get an E-STD.

its all his fault if a key logger gets his details, here's an idea, dont be a tripfag.

dont allow your PC to download programs off the net, dont click on untested links, dont let your girlfriend have your password for hotmail to check that your not cybering with other girls that you only happen to fucking use the same password for everything else. Its common sense, just because this guy has paid for a game doesn't give him the right to be blase with the IP.

Same goes with crossing the street, looking both ways and you'll be fine, ask your girlfriend if its safe and your in a bloody heap.

Whatever you people say it will never be his fault, simply because he did nothing wrong but...
If Valve on the other hand does not want to give him back his account that's an other thing. That depends on what the User Agreements were.

 

[Fangface74]

Heh, thanks for the security tips all but I'm covered there, I was online in the mid 80's (BBS's)and have installed more security, checked more ports and removed more malicious code than you've had hot dinners

back to the point, I've had 1 prior issue with account security in nearly 2 decades, so 1 successful intrusion every 10 years isn't bad, it's just annoying picking up the pieces.

 

[geldonyetich]

Geez, here I was hoping you were some angst-ridden kid. You're old enough that you should know better than to take the law into your own hands.

I mean, I respect that you're standing up for yourself and all, but I don't go slashing my neighbor's tires when he forgets to return the leaf blower.

 

[Fangface74]

I'm sorry but I'll have to go with the looking both ways before crossing the street analogy here, it fits majestically.

Anaolgy #2:

A)If you leave your wallet sitting around and somebody takes it...careless?

B)Your wallet is comfortably in your inside pocket but an individual skilled in 'wallet removal' is working the crowd...careless? or unlucky?

EVERYBODY here has probably taken reasonable precaution yet still had something stolen from them, is it fair to be told that the item has been recovered, it's agreed it's yours but you can't have it back due to policy?

 

[Fangface74]

Geez, here I was hoping you were some angst-ridden kid. You're old enough that you should know better than to take the law into your own hands.

I mean, I respect that you're standing up for yourself and all, but I don't go slashing my neighbor's tires when he forgets to return the leaf blower.

I know, your right of course, I'm not going to have any trouble sleeping but I have little recourse, the 1 viable suggestion from this thread I haven't tried is an actual phone call, I'll give it a try and see what happens, if it comes up aces I'll immediately snap in 2 the dodgy disks, but if not Valve will get me back as a begrudging customer, only I'll be using money that could've gone straight into their pockets.

 

[Fangface74]

I don't know of anyone who has taken precautions on the Internet and still got hacked. That's why I'm finding it a huge coincidence since all my friends who don't understand why Windows is called Windows get hacked/infected quite often.

I promise you, the only foolproof method of securing your system from the net is to unplug your modem.

 

[scotth266]

this is one of the main reasons why i NEVER by full games or even expansions via digital distribution!
xbox live arcade games yes, DLC like maps and small expansions yes. But never full games.

second reason is that i don't really feel like i "own" the game unless i have a hard copy...but that's just me

Exactamundo. Hard copies are always best, no matter the media.

 

[Theo Samaritan]

Here is what you do.

Make a new steam account.

Mail Valvae from a different e-mail address saying you bought them second hand. Take new photos that resemble in no way the old ones (no noticeable furniture etc, no face either), and they will move the keys to your account.

This has worked for a friend of mine before on my suggestion.

 

[DigitalSushi]

Like -616- said, there not going to help me, they're quiet clear on this

And to all the "You've only got yourself to blame" crew...one question;

how exactly?

Because you don't know how to effectively protect your account of hackers.
Or maybe because you downloaded a virus without knowing and it key logged you of your password.

how exactly is it his fault that a keylogger took his details without his knowledge? No matter how careful you are, there is always the chance that you could get an E-STD.

its all his fault if a key logger gets his details, here's an idea, dont be a tripfag.

dont allow your PC to download programs off the net, dont click on untested links, dont let your girlfriend have your password for hotmail to check that your not cybering with other girls that you only happen to fucking use the same password for everything else. Its common sense, just because this guy has paid for a game doesn't give him the right to be blase with the IP.

Same goes with crossing the street, looking both ways and you'll be fine, ask your girlfriend if its safe and your in a bloody heap.

Whatever you people say it will never be his fault, simply because he did nothing wrong but...
If Valve on the other hand does not want to give him back his account that's an other thing. That depends on what the User Agreements were.

If he's been stupid enough to have his account hacked by being a tripfag then, yes, yes it is his fault.

If your in a baseball game and you get clocked in the side of your head by a home run then its your fault for not paying attention to the fucking game, your connected to a whole world of hurt from your PC, pay attention to it.

 

[kdragon1010]

Like -616- said, there not going to help me, they're quiet clear on this

And to all the "You've only got yourself to blame" crew...one question;

how exactly?

Because you don't know how to effectively protect your account of hackers.
Or maybe because you downloaded a virus without knowing and it key logged you of your password.

how exactly is it his fault that a keylogger took his details without his knowledge? No matter how careful you are, there is always the chance that you could get an E-STD.

Really?
It never happened to me or other people who are conscious about Internet that I know off.

Edit:

I also would like to say that I'm a pirate, I go to malicious sites, I've been playing WoW for 2 years now and I never got any problems with anything.

I know how those programs work, I know how hackers access accounts, and I know how to defend myself.

I know how to defend myself as well, but not everyone is tech savvy or has the money to buy one of those expensive anti virus software packages. All I can say to the people who cant afford it is to get the free vlc antivirus.

Mine wasn't that expensive, and it has stopped every attack so far for the last three years running.

 

[Sir Ollie]

Exactamundo. Hard copies are always best, no matter the media.

Yeah i do miss them, damn digital these days

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

I wish that one's steam profile would be seperate from one's actual games.
What bothers me is that, when my computer decides to be a jerk and not let me on the internet, I can't play my steam games, dispite the fact that they are on my computer.

That's why I hate steam. It really makes me feel as if I don't OWN the game.

The only other problem I have with steam is that I bought SR2 off it because it had a decent meta rating. How does a game that is unplayable receive a number above 30? And really, its quite stupid to say you committed a crime. Not OJ bad, but pretty stupid.

 

[GenHellspawn]

To be fair it's kinda your fault for letting your account get hacked

You could apply this to bank heists too. I mean, it's their fault for being such an appealing target, isn't it?